A low-cost tool accurately distinguishes neurotypical children from children with autism just by watching them copy the dance moves of an on-screen avatar for a minute. It can even tell autism from ADHD, conditions that commonly overlap.

[u/mvea]

https://newatlas.com/adhd-autism/autism-motion-detection-diagnosis/

[u/klef25]

What country are you in? Also, what utility (if any) do you see in going through this process for an adult, especially one who is established in a profession and satisfied in their social life? I've seen adults wanting to know if they should be diagnosed with ASD or ADHD more out of curiosity than out of any specific distress.

[u/DoctorStarbuck → u/klef25]

I'm in Brazil. Well, that question require a deep answer, I'll try to point all the possible benefits that I see and/or that patients have pointed out.

ASD and ADHD can be sneaky disorders that one has(we actually say that the person IS ASD and/or ADHD in Portuguese among psychologists) their entire life without knowing, and that can and will affect the way that person see and interact with the world. And that effect can be very demanding or even restrict that person.

For example: An ASD person may use alcohol or cocaine to feel loose and interact with people, in a day to day basis or more commonly in parties and gatherings. Another example may be an ADHD person using weed to relax.
Both are example of self medication that can be harmful in several ways and forms.

An ASD person might have difficulties reaching to others to ask for help, even in dire situations or when they are overwhelmed. Or they might not understand why they have difficulties meeting or maintaining relationships, since this is one of the possible symptoms. An ADHD person might have the same difficulty due to a small object permeance(they forget the person exist, therefore they don't miss that person until they are remind of their existence).

One of the things I teach my patients is that you should not have to had the necessity to create a system to deal with that. For example, you shouldn't have had the necessity to use Siri/Post-it/Alarm Clock to remember almost every appointment you have, bills to pay and more. You shouldn't have had the necessity to create a system to deal with your lack of interest in small talk(or talk in general), or to look people in the eye.

These systems we create is a sign that we do have a deficit in that area that is so constant or impactful in your life, that you HAD to do something to change your way of dealing with it or your way of act, your way of being yourself, to fit in in the expectations of society, and not because that was unpleasant for you, but because it was unpleasant for others, cos you weren't acting normal, you weren't actin neurotypically.

And that by itself might help the person know themselves better and consider if they want to act upon this knowledge. One may also search and learn more from the disorder they have but they might not do the same with the disorder they think they have.

Aside from that, some friends or family might be prone to respect a diagnosis. And in Brazil we had a victory a few years back, and ASD people are considered a Person with Disability(PwD).

[u/klef25 → u/DoctorStarbuck]

Thanks for the reply. That leads me to another question. So, once the adult with ASD and/or ADHD knows of their diagnosis. What are the options for "treatment" such that they wouldn't need the systems that they have built up to compensate for their difficulties? I'm talking about their using lists, calendars, alarms, etc., not the self-medicating. I am not aware of any medication for ASD. Please correct me where I'm wrong since I really have only tangential trading related to ASD. Wouldn't treatment consist of making the patient more aware of the impressions and expectations of people around them so that they can build more appropriate systems for dealing with them? For patients with ADHD, there are medications, but don't the medications just make it easier for them to compensate and utilize the systems to interact professionally and socially and not prevent them from needing their lists, etc.

[u/DoctorStarbuck → u/klef25]

I think I understand your point.

For ASD the main problem in my professional opinion is to feel that you need to mask in order to be accepted. Because that will probably be the case at work, at school or college and even among acquaintances.
But that shouldn't be the case at home, with your significant other or among friends. Masking, changing or making an effort because others need it from you may not be a healthy decision.

But if you as an ASD decide that you want to make an effort to learn how to deal better with some things because that would make your friends/family/SO happy, that can be a healthy decision.

As far as ADHD go, people who are ADHD might benefit a lot more from strategies to remember things, to retain their attention in the desired stimuli etc. And knowing that these strategies aren't needed by everyone and that they are a sign that maybe things are harder for them then are for other people can help in the diagnosis process and even to understand themselves.

ADHD symptoms tend to affect more the person, and ASD symptoms tend to affect more the people around them.

Usually ASD people are happy the way they are, they are unhappy with how other people demand from them and how they feel the need to mask. At least that is what I hear the most from my ASD patients.

Usually ADHD symptoms greatly affect that person life, making it hard to accomplish things they know they can. And I usually hear them saying that as a kid they were promising kids, with a bright future that every adult could see their potential and how smart they were. And as an teenager/adult they are seen as a failure, or as lazy.